Early-bird registration is now open!

Register by April 24, 2015 to take advantage of significant early-bird discounts.

Register online now!

The 227th ECS Meeting will be held downtown at the historic Hilton, Chicago and will include over 50 topical symposia consisting of over 2,000 technical presentations, full-day short courses, professional development workshops, career opportunities, poster sessions, a dynamic technical exhibit and the 3rd annual Free the Science 5K Run. The 227th ECS Meeting is expected to attract over 2,000 scientists and engineers from industry, government, and academic institutions.

Scientists, engineers, and industry leaders come from around the world to attend the technical symposia, poster sessions, panel discussions, professional development workshops, special summits, and networking and social events offered throughout the course of each meeting.

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Dan Fatton, Director of Development and Membership Services and Christie Knef, ECS Director of Meetings outside Kelvingrove Museum.

Last weekend, I had the great opportunity to visit Glasgow, Scotland in the United Kingdom. Christie Knef, ECS Director of Meetings, and I were scoping out the location for our upcoming conference, the ECS Conference on Electrochemical Energy Conversion & Storage with SOFC-XIV.

The city is really beautiful, but also very compact and walkable. I’m excited that the conference location is extremely accessible, adjacent to the Exhibition Centre station. Even more exciting to me, there is a city bike system and in July, our delegates will be able to bike to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre easily; there is a nice bike path along the River Clyde leading directly to the venue from a multitude of hotels, many of which will be offering discounted room rates for delegates. There are several other noteworthy attractions, including the Glasgow Science Centre, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, University of Strathclyde and University of Glasgow, as well as the exciting Center City of Glasgow. Here’s a less than 90 second video tour of the sites and people that make Glasgow.

Not only is Glasgow easy to get around, but it’s very simple to travel to Edinburgh by train. Of note, the 2015 British Open will be held the week before our conference, and the United Kingdom’s largest art festival will begin July 30. Even if attendees cannot extend their stay, it’s less than 45 minutes on ScotRail to visit another great city for one evening; be sure to check out the historic fortress, Edinburgh Castle, and Scotland’s first university, University of St. Andrews.

The deadline for abstracts is quickly approaching later this week – Friday, February 20! I encourage anyone considering attending the conference to submit your abstract now.

And don’t forget, there are still exhibit spaces left with plenty of opportunities for sponsorship.

Long-time ECS member and past President of the Society (1985-1986), Dr. Alkire has been tremendously influential in the field of chemical engineering throughout his career.

His research activities include experimental investigations and mathematical modeling of localized corrosions, metal etching, high speed electrodeposition processes, porous electrodes, electro-organic synthesis, and plasma reactor design. Alkire received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering under ECS’s own Charles Tobias at the University of California Berkeley.

Take a moment to get to know him in this episode of ECS Talk.

Join Alkire and other top scientists in electrochemical and solid state science by joining the Society and attending our meetings!

And don’t forget to head over to the Digital Library to check out some of his published papers, including “Gravitational Effects on the Initial Stage of Cu Electrodeposition.”

An article by A. K. Shukla and T. Prem Kumar in the Fall 2008 issue of Interface.

Although there is some archaeological evidence which suggests that some form of a primitive battery (sometimes called a Baghdad battery) was used for electroplating in Mesopotamia ca. 200 BC, electrochemistry as we know it today had its genesis in the pile of crowns of Alessandro Volta in 1800. The inspiration for his studies might have come from the famous frog leg experiments of Galvani, who, however, was content to conclude that the phenomenon was of biological origin. A metamorphosis took place with seminal contributions from John Daniell and Michael Faraday. From such humble beginnings, electrochemistry today has matured into a multidisciplinary branch of study. Built on the precision of physics and depth of materials science, it encompasses chemistry, physics, biology, and chemical engineering.

The uniqueness of electrochemistry lies in the fact that the application of a potential or electric field can help overcome kinetic limitations at low temperatures. Moreover, electrochemical processes can be tuned to obtain chemically and sometimes stereochemically specific products. Electrochemical reactions are also sensitive to electrode-surface characteristics and electrolyte composition, which opens up several analytical and characterization avenues. Like many forward thinkers who have strived to make life easier for us to live, history pages are littered with the names, some of them long forgotten, of those who have made electrochemistry what it is today. This article is an attempt to provide a glimpse of these pillars of electrochemistry through their contributions.

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Ralph Brodd has become a pillar of electrochemical science and technology over his 40 year career in the electrochemical energy conversion business.

He joined The Electrochemical Society in 1954 and served as President from 1981-1982. His ties to the Society run deep, beginning with his studies in 1950 at the University of Texas under ECS legend Norman Hackerman.

Take a moment to get to know him in this episode of ECS Talk.

Join Brodd and other top scientists in electrochemical and solid state science by joining the Society and attending our meetings!

The ECS Conference on Electrochemical Energy Conversion & Storage with SOFC-XIV convening in Glasgow, Scotland at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre from July 26-31, 2015 is the first of a series of planned biennial conferences in Europe by ECS on electrochemical energy conversion/storage materials, concepts, and systems.

We are creating a forum where scientists and engineers can come together and discuss fundamental advances and engineering innovations.

Abstracts are due February 20, 2015
Find out more about submitting your abstract today!

The lead organizers of this conference are among the top researchers in their respective fields. We wanted to take a moment to introduce them to you:

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The Arizona Section of ECS will be hosting a meeting with special guest speaker Professor Robert F. Savinell.

Date: January 26, 2014

Time: Networking and refreshments at 6:15 PM; Seminar begins at 7:00 PM

Place: University of Arizona
Tuscon, AZ 85721
Agave Room, 4th Floor of Student Union Building

Cost: Free to attend; $5 for light refreshments

Speaker: Professor Robert F. Savinell
George S. Dively Professor of Electrochemical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University
Professor Savinell is recognized as a leading authority on electrochemical energy storage and conversion. His research has been directed at fundamental science and engineering research for electrochemical systems and novel device design, development, and optimization. Dr. Savinell has over 100 publications and seven patents in the electrochemical field. He is a past chair of ECS’s Electrolytic and Electrochemical Engineering Division, a former editor of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society, and a Fellow of ECS.

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“The first meeting that I attended was held in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1928. I went with Dr. W. C. Moore, who had previously persuaded me to become a member. I knew immediately that I was interested in the Society. That interest was not due to the papers that I listened to. There was nothing strictly on electro-organic on the program. I believe that it was due to the enthusiasm of the group, and the fact that I was made to feel that I belonged.”
-Sherlock Swann, Jr.

An article by Richard Alkire in the latest issue of Interface.

Electro-organic chemistry had its champion in Sherlock Swann, Jr. His scholarship, especially his massive bibliographic efforts, served singlehandedly to keep alive the promise and spirit of electro-organic chemistry in the U.S. from the 1930s to the 50s.

He was a charter member of the Electro-organic Division of The Electrochemical Society, formed in 1940, and was the first person to hold the offices of Secretary, Vice-Chair, and Chair of that Division. Beginning with his first ECS meeting in 1928 and continuing throughout his life, he played an active role in the Society, including a term as President in 1958-59. He was the Electro-organic Divisional Editor of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 1939-59; the Lifetime Honorary Chair of the Chicago Section; and was made an Honorary Member of the Society in 1974.

Swann was born in 1900 in Baltimore, Maryland, where his family had deep roots and a tradition of service to society. His great-grandfather, Thomas Swann, served as governor of Maryland, as mayor of Baltimore, as President of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and was a leading force in the creation of Druid Hill Park, Baltimore’s first large municipal park. His father served as Baltimore police commissioner and subsequently as Postmaster, and led the reconstruction of downtown Baltimore police commissioner and subsequently as Postmaster, and led the reconstruction of downtown Baltimore and its streets after the Great Fire of 1904.

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Each year ECS awards up to five Summer Fellowships to assist students in continuing their graduate work during the summer months in a field of interest to the Society. Congratulations to the five Summer Fellowship recipients for 2014. The Society thanks the Summer Fellowship Committee for their work in reviewing the applications and selecting five excellent recipients. Applications for the 2015 Summer Fellowships are due January 15, 2015.

Get more information here.

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As Larry Faulkner said, “Norman Hackerman has been one of those rare and valued great citizens who helps a large and complex society move from past to future.”

An article by Robert P. Frankenthal in the Summer 2008 issue of Interface.

Norman Hackerman, who died last year at the age of 95, was a giant among giants: a world renowned scientist, an outstanding educator, a highly successful administrator, and a champion for basic research. He was member of ECS for more than 60 years. His research focused on the electrochemistry of corrosion, its mechanism and the processes to prevent or inhibit corrosion. During the more than 50 years he served as an administrator, he continued as a research scientist and an educator, maintaining an active research group and teaching freshman classes. At the same time he served the government, ECS, and other technical societies in numerous capacities.

Marye Anne Fox, chancellor and distinguished professor of chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, summed up his contributions to the nation, as reported in Chemical & Engineering News, “More than any other American, Norman Hackerman’s strong support for investment in basic research was the dominant factor in American science policy over the past 50 years, including the years he served as chairman of the National Science Board.” She further states that as a leader, “his voice was a strong one for the highest ethical principles, imbued with rationality, even when this involved great personal cost.”

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